Essay on the Knights Tale
Discuss Questions The Knights Tale. 1. Do you admire Palamon and Arcite for sacrificing everything, including their friendship, to pursue Emily? Or, like Theseus, do you think it's sort of stupid? 2. Are Palamon and Arcite two different characters, or the same character in two different bodies? 3. Why is Emily the only character whose prayer to the gods is not granted.
The Canterbury Tales: The Knight's Tale Theme of love and order that is combined
"The Knight's Tale" shows what happens when the rules of two different systems – chivalry and courtly love – come into conflict with one another. Palamon and Arcite have sworn a knightly oath to be loyal to one another, but they both fall in love with the same girl. The problem is, the rule of chivalry, which demands knights keep their oaths, is tested by the rule of courtly love, which demands that a knight put his love for his lady before everything else. This inevitably leads to a big, fat fight between the two knights. The tale solves the problem in the character of Duke Theseus, who proposes an organized contest to solve the feud. The winner gets Emily.
Theseus is the order-bringer and rule-protector from the very beginning of "The Knight's Tale," when he sets its plot in motion by punishing a king who has broken the societal rule that bodies must receive a proper burial. Yet his desire for an orderly universe is tested when Arcite, the knight who wins the joust and Emily, dies in a freak accident immediately following the battle
Questions
1. How do the rules of chivalry come into conflict with the rules of courtly love in this tale? Which system of rules does Arcite claim should win out, and why? 2. How does Duke Theseus show the universe to be ruled and orderly? How does he fit death into this orderly universe? 3. How to you think the Author Is portraying love? 4. What should a man stay loyal to do? 5. What does Emily Symbolize?
From the second Palamon and Arcite lay eyes on the lovely
The Canterbury Tales: The Knight's Tale Theme of love and order that is combined
"The Knight's Tale" shows what happens when the rules of two different systems – chivalry and courtly love – come into conflict with one another. Palamon and Arcite have sworn a knightly oath to be loyal to one another, but they both fall in love with the same girl. The problem is, the rule of chivalry, which demands knights keep their oaths, is tested by the rule of courtly love, which demands that a knight put his love for his lady before everything else. This inevitably leads to a big, fat fight between the two knights. The tale solves the problem in the character of Duke Theseus, who proposes an organized contest to solve the feud. The winner gets Emily.
Theseus is the order-bringer and rule-protector from the very beginning of "The Knight's Tale," when he sets its plot in motion by punishing a king who has broken the societal rule that bodies must receive a proper burial. Yet his desire for an orderly universe is tested when Arcite, the knight who wins the joust and Emily, dies in a freak accident immediately following the battle
Questions
1. How do the rules of chivalry come into conflict with the rules of courtly love in this tale? Which system of rules does Arcite claim should win out, and why? 2. How does Duke Theseus show the universe to be ruled and orderly? How does he fit death into this orderly universe? 3. How to you think the Author Is portraying love? 4. What should a man stay loyal to do? 5. What does Emily Symbolize?
From the second Palamon and Arcite lay eyes on the lovely